AIADMK IT wing functionary dies by suicide near Tirupur

COIMBATORE: An AIADMK IT wing functionary died by suicide at Kundadam in Tirupur district on Wednesday after allegedly being harassed by some men over his failure to repay money borrowed from them. In an audio message, the man stated that he was taking the extreme step as some people, including a few DMK functionaries, had threatened him over the phone.

The deceased has been identified as M Selvanantham, 27, of Senkattu Thottam at Pellampatti near Dharapuram. He was the AIADMK IT wing union secretary in Kundadam West. His wife, Muthupriya, is a former president of Navanari village panchayat.

Based on Muthupriya’s complaint, the Kundadam police registered a case against Manimaran and Muthukumar of Madurai, Venkatesh of Thalaiyuthu and Seenivasan of Rajapalayam under Section 108 (Abetment of Suicide) of the BNS.

The body was sent to the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH) for postmortem.

AIADMK cadres along with the family members of the deceased staged a protest in front of the mortuary at CMCH, demanding action against the DMK functionaries who had abetted his suicide.

In a social media post, AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami said there were reports that harassment by a few DMK functionaries over a financial transaction was the reason for the suicide of Selvanandham. “I condemn the DMK men who presume that they can intimidate anyone just because they are in power,’’ he said. “I demand that chief minister M K Stalin’s failed model govt initiate appropriate legal action against DMK functionaries responsible for Selvanandham's death,’’ he stated.